Light of Darkness

by Lonnie Davidson

  “Well, are you going to let me out, or are you going to sit there staring at me?”

  “Sorry.” I open the door, and she hops out.

  Serena places her hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay, Kyle. She takes some getting used to. Now come on, let’s get inside.”

  Serena grabs my stuff from the back seat and heads into the house. When I walk through the doorway, everything feels different. It feels like the house is breathing. I shut the door.

  “Sweetie, come into the living room,” Serena says, walking into the kitchen. The cat follows her.

  She moves the recliner in front of the sofa. “Please take a seat,” she tells me, patting the chair.

  I sit, and she kisses me on the cheek. The cat hops up onto the sofa, and Serena sits next to it. “Well, before we start, do you mind if we get comfortable?” the cat asks in a full-body stretch.

  I sit back into the chair. “Umm, by all means, be my guest.”

  “Thank you.” She sighs, and the temperature in the room drops so low I can see my own breath. She shudders as her bronze fur turns jet black and begins to pulse and move. Her body is completely engulfed by a sphere of darkness. It twists and churns as it grows, taking a humanoid shape. The dark mass melts away from her face, revealing her cat eyes, and then melts from the rest of her. This has to be both the most terrifying and the most amazing thing I’ve seen, which is saying a lot, considering the week I’ve had.

  She leans forward, putting her face in her hands. Her breath trembles. The darkness seeps into her, coloring her new form, then she sits back, out of breath. She starts to laugh as the black turns dark bronze—the true color of her skin. Her eyes still hold that feline quality, but now they’re worn and focused, like an old war hero. She smiles, caressing her slender face and now long, naked, human body.

  “It’s been a while.” She scratches her scalp through her long dreadlocks. “Much better.” Serena takes one of the blankets from behind the couch and drapes it over the woman’s shoulders. “Thank you, little sister.” She looks at Serena quizzically. “Well, Serena, aren’t you going to get comfortable?”

  Serena looks at me with worry in her eyes. “I am comfortable,” she says, a little weaker than she has ever sound.

  “Go ahead, don’t stop on my behalf,” I tell her, trying not to seem too shaken up.

  “As you wish,” she says with a bow of her head. Again, the air grows cold, and Serena starts trembling. The gray in her hair blackens, and her skin smooths, growing taut. She sighs in relief and lifts her head. Her face is younger—a lot younger. In fact, I’d say she looks about my age. She rubs at her stomach and arms, which were previously a little pudgy due to her age but are now firm and toned.

  “It feels good to be in my own skin. That old body gets to me after a while,” she says in a voice that’s younger as well. She looks at me, her eyes still filled with worry.

  I just start laughing. “Is this a joke?” I manage.

  Serena and the cat lady exchange looks. The cat lady gets up, wraps the blanket around herself, and walks over to me, moving with feline grace. She kneels in front me, places her hands on my legs, and looks me in the eye. I stop laughing.

  “No, little brother,” she says softly. “This is no joke. You, Serena, and I are demons.”

  “Yeah, I got that the first time you said it.”

  I lean back in my chair, looking between the two of them. Young Serena averts her eyes, while the cat lady stares at me, waiting for me to say something. I don’t know what to think or how to feel, let alone what to say to these two. She puts her hand on mine. It’s as soft and warm as the cat’s fur.

  “Just say what you want to say,” cat lady says softly.

  I take a deep breath. “Who are you? Both of you.”

  She smiles. “Now, that’s a good first question. My name is Mayra Ross.”

  “Ross? Are we related?”

  She starts to laugh. “I don’t call just anyone my little brother.”

  “Wait, it’s not some demon saying? You’re really my sister?” She nods. “But you just called her ‘little sister,’” I say pointing at Serena.

  Mayra looks at me a little confused, then she looks over her shoulder to Serena and shakes her head. “I take it this is the first time you’ve met your sister, Serena,” she says, looking back at me.

  I look over to Serena, who is clearly nervous. “I guess so.”

  Mayra groans in annoyance. “Little sister, we talked about this.”

  “What? I was going to talk to him about everything when he woke up, but the night before, his friends were accosted by some no fashion sense, waste of space, demon jerk, and Kyle was somehow possessing one of them. Then, when he woke up, he started asking questions. I didn’t know how to answer them and freaked out a little bit, okay?”

  “This is…a bit too much.” I get up and rush into the kitchen.

  I get to the sink, cup some cold water into my hand, and splash it on my face. What in the hell is going on? My dreams, Shadow, possessing Airca, running from that Ben guy, meeting Valene and the Messenger, and now this. It’s all crazy. My head hurts.

  “Sweetie?” My heart shoots up into my throat, and I jump so hard the entire counter rattles. I turn to see the young Serena staring at me. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Her face may have gone through a major overhaul, but those deep-brown eyes are still the same ones that I’ve been looking into as far back as I can remember.

  I take a deep breath and swallow my aching heart. “No, you’re okay. It’s just a lot to take in,” I say, wiping the water from my face.

  She laughs a little. “Yeah, I figured it would be. I was hoping to be a lot subtler, but with the way things happened...”

  I lean back against the counter, looking at her. “So, the woman I’ve called ‘Aunt’ my entire life is actually my sister?” She nods her head. I sigh. “This is going to take some getting used to.”

  “I could always go back to the old body, if that will make you feel better?”

  “No, now that I know the truth, I couldn’t see that form the same either,” I say, rubbing my head.

  “Yeah.” She smiles awkwardly. I think that hurt her feelings.

  I reach out and take her hand. “I still love you all the same though. That’s not changing. You’re just my sister now. I’ll adjust.”

  Tears stream down her face. “Thanks, sweetie.”

  I wipe the tears from my own eyes. “So, how old are you, exactly? I mean your 60th birthday was last month.”

  “My birthday is in May, based on the human calendar, but I turned eighteen dytics three years ago.”

  Three years ago? That doesn’t make sense. “Dytics?”

  She smiles. “It’s the term for demon years”

  “Uh huh. How about human years then?”

  “Let’s see…1,440.”

  If I were a cartoon, my jaw would hit the floor.

  “So, are you guys going to stand in there and leave me out, or are you coming back?” Mayra asks from the living room.

  “Oh, don’t get your panties in a bunch; we’re coming,” Serena says.

  “My dear sister, you know that’s impossible. I’m not wearing any. Also, bring a glass of milk, thank you.”

  Serena shakes her head as she pours a glass of milk for Mayra. “Come on,” she says, holding out her hand. A little reluctant, I take it, and she leads me back into the living room. I sit back in my interrogation chair.

  “So, little brother, what do you think?”

  I sink into the cushion. “It’s just all so much. If we’re all siblings, why didn’t you guys tell me earlier? Why wait till now?”

  Mayra crosses her arms, her face somewhat grim. “We were under direct orders to wait until you grew into demonhood—if you grew into it.”

  “By who?”

  “Our parents,” Serena answers. “When you were born, we noticed you weren’t like us. You were human, and that meant you would age like one too.
”

  Mayra downs her milk. “So, just in case you were going to stay that way, it was decided you would be raised as such. But as foretold, on your seventeenth birthday, you grew into your power, and now here we are. Oh, and happy birthday.”

  I lean forward. “Foretold?”

  “Yes, by the oracle herself,” Mayra says, gesturing to Serena.

  I look at Serena.

  “We’ll save that one for a later date,” she says, glaring at Mayra.

  “So, everything that I’ve gone through today—that weird power surge with little Jay, the arcade game, the energy beam, that meeting—was—”

  “Wait, what meeting?” Mayra interrupts, putting her hand up.

  “Uh, after I passed out at the mall, apparently I had an out-of-body experience. I was taken to some underground slum. I was surrounded by a rally of demons. Then the Messenger appeared and—”

  “You saw the Messenger?” Serena asks.

  “Yeah,” I answer, scratching my head. Based on their concerned expressions, I don’t think I’m going to tell them about the little confrontation I had with him.

  “What did he say, exactly? If you can remember.” Mayra asks sitting forward.

  “He said that in four weeks’ time, everything would be complete, that they would be among us, and that the war will begin once again.”

  Mayra puts her face in her hand. “Just great. After all that work, I thought he had a handle on that.” She sits there in silence for a second, thinking. “Well, we’ll just have to worry about that when it comes. What else happened?”

  “I met this girl.” My skin grows hot at the thought of Valene. I can still feel her lips on mine and can’t help but smile.

  “Oooo, looks like she made an impression you,” Serena points out.

  I clear my throat. “She actually said she knows you. Her name is Valene.”

  “Kir?” Serena asks.

  “Yeah. Now that I think about it, she said to tell you that she’s throwing in the towel?”

  They both look at me, wide-eyed with surprise. “It would seem that you were the one who made the impression,” Serena says.

  “I guess you were right again, Sis. Their fates are intertwined,” Mayra says, laughing. “A chance meeting like that isn’t too likely. So, what did she do when she learned your name?”

  “Uh, she invited me to a party at her place in like two days.”

  The two of them lock eyes, as if holding a conversation without words. Not sure if that’s a demon thing or sister thing, but while they do that, I mull over all the stuff I just learned about my family, the world, and myself.

  I close my eyes, put my face into the palms of my hands, and drift through my thoughts. Somehow, I feel calm. It’s surprising that I’m not freaking out. It’s all just sinking right in. I never knew how easy it would be to accept something so extreme, so crazy.

  I rub my eyes and look up to see that Serena and Mayra are gone.

  “Uh, Serena? Mayra?”

  No answer. I guess the Q and A is over, but I still have questions. I want to know about our parents, where Mayra’s been, but most of all, this war. Mayra knows what’s happening; I just don’t know if she’ll tell me.

  I wander into the kitchen, where Serena sits at the table, sipping some tea.

  “You guys left me.”

  “Sweetie, you fell asleep.”

  “How long was I out?”

  “An hour.” I sit down, placing my head on the cold wood tabletop. “Pizza is on the way,” she says before I can even complain that I’m hungry. I look at her, my expression asking, How? “I’ve been with you since you were a babe,” she tells me. “I know when my neph—little brother is hungry.”

  “Old habits die hard, I guess,” I say, scooting next to her.

  “Yes, they do. Now tell me, are you going to Valene’s party?”

  “To tell you the truth, I thought she was a dream, but after all the stuff you guys laid on me, I know she’s real now. Yeah, I think I will.” She just smiles. “Serena, I still have a lot of questions.”

  “And we have answers, little brother,” Mayra says sleepily.

  I scan the kitchen, looking for her. “Where are you?”

  “On top of the fridge,” she says. “I was taking a cat nap.”

  Literally.

  She jumps from the fridge and changes into her human form, still naked. “I suggest we save all those extra questions of yours for a later time,” she says, sitting at the table between Serena and me. I turn away from her trying not to stare, “What’s the matter Kyle? Are you mad at my suggestion?”

  “No, he’s just uncomfortable, with you being naked and all.” Serena gets up and goes to the TV room. She comes back with a blanket and hands it to Mayra. Mayra looks at it in disgust, but reluctantly wraps herself with it.

  “For now, let’s just let it all soak in,” Serena says, grabbing my shoulder.

  Before I can argue, the doorbell rings. “I’m guessing that’s the delivery boy. Hmm, I wonder if I can get the pizza for free?” Mayra stands dropping the cover from around her. “I’ll be back,” she says, heading to the front.

  I look to Serena. She shakes her head, and sighs with slight annoyance. “Kyle, I have to apologize for her. She’s a… free spirit.”

  “I see that. I guess I’ll just have to get used to it. Used to her.”

  She chuckles. “She’s a lot to get used to.” She looks at me, worry in her eyes. “This will be a lot to get used to too.”

  “Yeah I know.” For second we sit in silence. Her face locked in perpetual worry, as she gazes into her tea cup. I hate seeing her like this. “But I’ll have my sisters help me through this right?” I say with an awkward smile.

  She smiles and looks up at me. “Right. You sure do.”

  Seconds later, Mayra comes back in all her naked glory, with the box of pizza and a triumphant smile. “Teenage boys are so easy.” She places the pizza box down on the table and opens it. A third of the pizza is covered in anchovies, another in olives, and the last in pepperoni. We all take our favorite pieces.

  Mayra holds a piece of pizza in the air. “To our little brother and our little demon family.”

  Serena holds her piece up. “To Kyle,” she says with a smile.

  “Cheers,” I finish.

  I’m a demon. Yeah, it’s going to be weird.

  The past couple of days have been the most bizarre of my life so far. I’m used to having one middle-aged woman running around the house telling me what to do, but now I’ve got an eighteen and twenty-eight-year-old—sorry, dytic-old—ordering me around. Yay me. I will admit, it’s a nice change of pace having Mayra around. The house feels whole now somehow.

  I roll out of bed onto my feet and into a stretch. I haven’t felt this good after sleep, ever. I guess being one with your mind and spirit makes a bigger difference than I expected. It might also be that I’m excited for today, since tonight is Valene’s party.

  First, a trip to the bathroom. I walk to my door and unlock it. The knob won’t turn. “What’s going on?” I ask, still trying to pull and turn the knob. On the other side of the door, I hear a snicker. “Serena, why is the door locked? I gotta use the bathroom!” She laughs aloud.

  “Remember that…training Mayra and I…told you about yesterday?” she asks, trying to stop laughing long enough to catch her breath.

  “Yeah. Shadow walking,” I say, bouncing up and down. “What about it?”

  “Well, your training starts now.”

  “Cool, can I use the bathroom first?” I ask, pounding on the door.

  “You can. If you can get there.”

  “I hate you so much right now. Okay, okay, tell me how to do this thing.”

  “Well, first…”

  There’s a shift in the air, and I feel another presence in the room with me. I glance around, and Serena appears next to me in a cloud of darkness, making me jump, which doesn’t help my situation.

  “…you picture where
you wish to be. Second, you force a little energy into the thought and into the air around you. Last, but not least, you concentrate…” She vanishes and reappears on my bed. “…and voilà! You have just shadow walked.”

  “Cool. Now, will you please take me to the bathroom?” I ask in a slight whimper.

  “Aww, sorry, bro.” She stands from my bed and walks up to me. She gives me a hug. “You’re on your own,” she whispers in my ear, then vanishes. She’s a demon of the worst kind.

  “Serena!” I scream as I bang on the door. “Okay, okay, I need an image. Bathroom, bathroom, bathroom.” With each time I say “bathroom,” the image of it becomes clearer, until it feels as though I’m there.

  “Okay, now for the energy.”

  I haven’t said anything to my sisters about it, but ever since I woke up at the hospital, I’ve felt a buzzing sensation throughout my body. I know it’s my energy, and although I’ve tried, I can’t actively control it—at least not until today. The hair on my arms stands on end, and my skin starts to burn. I take a deep breath, and the feeling surges out into the air around me.

  The concentration part is going to be a little hard. I put my forehead against the cool surface of the door. It helps take my mind off the pain, and I put my focus into the energy and image. The world around me begins to bend and warp. It feels like I’m being pulled and stretched like a rubber band, until I’m let go and flung through the air. Everything goes dark for an instant and then brightens again.

  My vision focuses, adjusting to the bright light of the room. Steam is everywhere. I’m sure someone is in the shower, but the most important thing in my life at this moment is right in front of me. Oh, toilet, how I love thee.

  As I relieve myself, the shower curtain opens. I don’t look up as Mayra leisurely exits the shower and moves to the towel rack. I quickly finish as she steps toward me.

  “So, you were actually able to shadow walk. I’m very proud of you, little brother,” Mayra says as she wraps her arms around me.

  “Thanks, Mayra,” I say, flushing the toilet.

  It’s still a little weird having a completely naked woman walking around the house, especially with it being my own sister. She lets me go of me starts drying her hair with a towel. I look at her out of the side of my eye and can’t help but smile. It is cool how comfortable she is with herself though.